Ihor Selemenev: In Loving Memory

It is with great sorrow that the art world mourns the passing of Ukrainian artist Ihor Selemenev. The Ukrainian Fund of Digitized Art (UFDA) extends its deepest condolences to his family, friends, comrades from the art community, and all who had the privilege of knowing him.

Born in 1972, Selemenev was a celebrated figure in contemporary Ukrainian art and a member of the creative group "Podzaborniki." Residing in Kyiv, he was known for his artistic versatility and mastery of diverse mediums and techniques. He specialized in monochrome, figurative lithography and referred to himself as a "blackworker".

The artist engaged in figurative painting that least imitated a realistic style. His figurative paintings often featured mythological characters like Golem, Kai and Gerda, Artemis, and Pasiphae.

These figures were deconstructed into fragmented, chaotic particles of typographic ink, evoking a haunting and thought-provoking visual language. Chimeric landscapes, Greek columns, and echoes of totalitarian architecture were recurring motifs in his oeuvre.

Ihor Selemenev preferred using offset ink in his work. For one of his exhibitions, he scanned his pieces, enlarged them into pixelated forms, and printed them on kraft paper and felt. Selemenev also worked with ceramics.

To honor Ihor Selemenev's memory, UFDA spoke with his friends and colleagues, gathering their heartfelt stories and reflections, painting a vivid portrait of a remarkable artist. 

Sasha Demyter, an artist and friend of Ihor:

"His workshop was always distinguished by a mystical yet light atmosphere. It was as if the owner possessed meanings and knowledge that were beyond the reach of an ordinary person, which you could glimpse through his works. The owner himself seemed to be present, as if in meditation in that very moment, while simultaneously remaining in a kind of solitude.

Ihor had an extraordinarily kind and open heart, and interacting with him filled you with ease and wisdom. His words always carried weight, and the meanings interwoven in his unique manner seemed to be an extension, an inseparable part of his creativity.

Text and word—subtle in their visual form, rhythm, and semantics—this underlying motif of his worlds: n o f u t u r e, the Latin NIHIL, and Death in June's NADA in general, did not evoke a sense of emptiness but rather a transition to another dimension. This feeling of transition was amplified by the music, which was always invisibly present in the background of his workshop: the entire classic European occult underground, from Einstürzende Neubauten to Coil.

Thus, there remains an unconscious sense that Ihor also made his transition. Paraphrasing Coil: Going Up, Sel!"

Vladyslav Riaboshtan, an artist and friend of Ihor:

"A remarkable artist and a wonderful person! I remember he once told me, "Vlad, why don't you fill the entire hallway near your studio with your artworks?" We love to hang our pieces in the corridors near our studios at the Institute of Automation.

During open house days, he would sometimes stop by my studio for a chat. I’ve always admired his black-and-white ink graphics. For a while, I even considered asking him to trade works—I really wanted one for my small collection. Among some artists in our community, we have this tradition of exchanging pieces too."

Vitalii Kravets, an artist:

"I have serious memory issues, and they’ve worsened significantly in recent years. I often fail to recognize people I know quite well and have known for a long time. It’s very inconvenient—my apologies, friends. But there are people you simply cannot forget, and Ihor Selemenev was one of them. We only met a few times, and I have several of his works in my collection, but I’m certain I’d never confuse him with anyone else. The same goes for his art. For that matter, even Sel's voice—its timbre—I’d recognize from a single note.

His art was deeply personal, springing from under his broad fingers, and this is the kind of art I value. It was like spores peeling off a giant mushroom—so deeply connected to him. It feels as though if Ihor had decided to bake pies, they too would have been personified, endowed with a soul, like little fairies, each with its own unique expression.

His art carried its own mythology, created without deference to the viewer but with great curiosity about the world and its people. Kind yet eerie at the same time, much like life itself. His work didn’t change drastically even after the start of the full-scale war, as it had already contained the tools to reflect on catastrophes of such magnitude.

My friend Nina Savenko aptly calls Selemenev "the Minotaur of the Institute of Automation." So, let us thank this Minotaur for opening the labyrinth of his art to the treasure trove of Ukrainian art history."

Maria Hlazunova, Coordinator of the exhibition 'Around the Void' by Ihor Selemenev and Andrii Pidlisnyi, held at Rechovyi DOKAZ in 2018:

"When I moved into my own office at the Dovzhenko Center, I wanted to decorate it with a painting from my small personal collection. I chose this piece by Ihor Selemenev. Despite its seemingly eerie nature, the work evokes a sense of peace and comfort in me.

It was the same with Ihor himself. For all the grandeur of his stature and his contemplative face, he was a quiet and profound person with whom one could talk for hours.

Once, we arranged a walk through the Tatarka district. I had promised to show him my favorite abandoned hospital. As a thank-you for this “tour,” Ihor brought me another one of his works—a girl with a bob haircut, wearing a coat and holding a phone. Naturally, I immediately thought it was me. Sometimes self-esteem reaches new heights.

On the hospital roof, we talked about everything. It seems he was the first to notice and truly see my fascination with Kyiv—its history, places, and people. He asked questions, told stories, and listened.

We also talked about knives—how could we not? He showed me his Opinel knife, and later, I gifted the same model to my grandmother.

In the two days since I learned of Ihor Selemenev’s passing, I’ve been recalling our last meeting. We ran into each other on the street by chance. I was with someone—I can’t even remember who anymore. We exchanged a couple of words, hugged, and went our separate ways. My companion asked me, "Who was that?"

When I said that this mountain of a man was an artist, I saw their surprise. In this paradoxical man, there was a depth that one could likely only find reflected in his works."

Eugene Baraban, an artist:

"The graphics and paintings of Ihor Selemenev immediately caught my eye. I was captivated and began eagerly searching for more of his works. In his pieces, there is often just a single object depicted, with a professional nod to linear perspective. Yet this character commands your attention, compelling you to examine it with curiosity; every graphic drawing contains an entire world. In each of his works, I find my own story. To love Selemenev’s art is akin to loving the "devilry" in the writings of E.T.A. Hoffmann.

If I were to give an art history lecture and choose one contemporary artist and one from the past to explore “asymmetrical similarities,” I would pair Ihor Selemenev with Odilon Redon."

Ruslan Ivashenko and Ellina Iva, artists and friends of Ihor:

"Ihor was a unique personality. His creativity was profoundly impactful, yet it was also captivating how effortlessly he positioned himself. Ihor didn’t have a formal artistic education, yet he was like a hidden encyclopedia of the arts. He was always open to knowledge, almost as if he refused to acknowledge his own significance. He showed a childlike curiosity in learning new techniques from his colleagues, eagerly absorbing new ideas, and he never engaged in pompous, verbose presentations of his own works, even though he undoubtedly had much to say.

He was an ascetic in life, selective in his social interactions, but this wasn’t about snobbery. It was all about preserving his own space and creativity, and it was worth it."

Ukrainian Fund of Digitized Art takes pride in digitising and preserving more than 300 of Selemenev’s works. Among his most notable pieces are "Arrival" (2019), "Artemis and Asterius" (2021), "Artemis and the Last Peach" (2018), "Artemis in Yellow (Gold and Void)" (2020), "Breakfast of Asterius" (2022), "Consoling Darwin" (2020), "Black Tomorrow K (Black Zavtra K)" (2021), "Pasiphae and Asterius" (2020), and many more.   

We invite everyone to explore works by the artist: 

Ihor Selemenev’s legacy will live on through his extraordinary contributions to art and the indelible mark he left on the creative world.

To view all works by Ihor Selemenev, visit his profile on the UFDA website.